Never underestimate the power of hard work and motivation. Just consider the story of Temple Grandin, Ph.D., professor of animal science at Colorado State University, prolific best-selling author, inventor, world-renowned motivational speaker and autism expert.

When Grandin was a young girl who was diagnosed with autism, the medical community referred to children with autism and neurological disorders as “infant schizophrenics” and recommended having them “banished to institutions.”

Instead, her wise mother, Eustacia Cutler, fought to keep her daughter in the mainstream of the family and the community, instituting rules, consequences and therapy. With lots of ups and downs, they persevered.

After Grandin found her passion in studying animal science, particularly the habits of cattle, she triumphed, despite any roadblocks that were put in her way.

Grandin was also the subject of Temple Grandin, an Emmy Award-winning HBO movie starring Claire Danes, the story of an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry, by proving herself in a male-dominated field and using her visual thinking to succeed.

Today, the remarkable 71-year-old autism expert and advocate has written more than a dozen best-selling books, speaks around the world at conferences filled with appreciative parents, caregivers, teachers and therapists, and she clearly has no intention of slowing down.

For Autism Awareness Month in April, Grandin was eager to talk about The Loving Push, her 2015 book with Debra Moore, Ph.D., about how important it is for parents, grandparents, caregivers, and educators to gently “push” and “stretch” children and adults with autism to meet their full potential.

“We’ve got to stretch these children,” Grandin explained in an exclusive interview with Parade.com. “Too many of these kids are being overprotected, and, unfortunately, they are just not carrying out the basic skills that they need to learn to become productive adults.”

What are you most concerned about when you talk to parents around the country about their children, teens, and adults with autism?

We’re doing a good job with the little children, but where things fall down is with some of these middle school and high school kids. We’re seeing a lot of problems with them being addicted to video games. And they are getting holed up in the basement or the bedroom and the parents can’t get them out of the house. We’ve got to get these kids out and get them doing things. The problem is they are not becoming game programmers or game designers; they are just holed up in the basement. They are not doing anything that will turn into a career.

I believe that many children and adults on the spectrum have addictive personalities, and they spend time with games, movies, or toys. My 13-year-old son is currently passionate about animal and dinosaur books.

I’d rather have them doing that than video games. But better still, let’s get out them out of the house and doing something active. Maybe, you could ask the neighbors if your son could walk their dogs every morning before school. It can be just simple stuff like that. Let’s get them out doing things and learning job skills outside the family.

I don’t think a lot of our children or teens do errands or chores.

I know, but this is the problem. I’m seeing fully verbal 16-year-old boys and girls who have never gone to a cashier to buy something simple. I recently met a 14-year-old girl with her mom at the airport who said she had never bought anything on her own. So, I pulled out a five-dollar-bill and I said, ‘Go to that newsstand and just buy something.’ And she bought a drink and brought me the change back, and I think that was the first time she had ever shopped by herself. She found out she could do it by herself. It was just about across the hall, but her mom did not go in with her. We have got to give a loving push and a gentle stretch to see what these children are capable of, or how will we ever know?

My son’s school is fostering more independence by having him keep track of the items in his backpack every day, which I have to reinforce at home.

That’s good. I like visual analogies. You don’t throw the kids into the deep end of the pool, but you’ve got to help them stretch; ‘Pack your own backpack.’ You might give them a choice of activity. He can do 4-H or some other activity that he would enjoy. So, he’s going to choose one of those, but just give him two choices. Playing video games or playing on the tablet is not one of the choices.

So sometimes it’s about finding what the child or adult with autism is passionate about and helping them turn that into a career.

Exactly. It can be theater, music, or, for one family I was just talking to, it was ROTC, and they found it very helpful because of the discipline and structure. And once they find something they really love, other than just sitting home on their devices, there’s a lot more options and opportunities for them out there.

Do you think it’s easier today for children with autism and their parents, more so than it was 10 or 15 years ago?

Well, things have really improved for young children because there are a lot more services available to them. I recommend my book The Way I See It as a way to help with the little ones. It’s a lot of little short articles on little practical stuff. Where I’m seeing too much with the fully verbal kids is not challenging them and not getting them out doing things. You want to give them choices. Give them choices, but sitting in your dust in the bedroom all day is not going to be one of them. When I was a teenager, I used to like to fly kites. I even made kites. Just simple stuff like that. Just leave the house and get outdoors.

How is your mom, Eustacia Cutler doing?

Really well, thank you. She is 92 and still active.Thinking back to my own childhood, my mom had the good sense to know how to stretch me. There are all kinds of activities that you can do that are not expensive. You’ve just got to get out and do it.

The fact that you found what you loved with horses and cattle is indicative of the fact that if someone finds her passion she can turn it into a career.

That’s right, but you have to be exposed to things. I was exposed to cattle when I was fourteen years old. If I was not exposed to cattle, I would not have gotten interested in them. We’ve got to get kids out and expose them to stuff, so they can figure out what they might be interested in.

Is there hope for everybody?

Definitely.Yes. You’ve got to start looking at what they can do. And even with some of the ones who are more challenged, there’s a tendency to overprotect them and to help them too much.

Do you talk to parents who get depressed about their children or their family because of the naysayers who come up to them and say your child can’t do that or shouldn’t do that?

I’ve had parents come up to me and said the doctors were telling them that their son or daughter would never amount to anything. But they read my books and looked at my videos, and I was right. They tell me with pride, ‘My kid has graduated from college, has a good job, owns a house, and has a family now.’ And it makes me feel very good that reading my books and going to my lectures helped them on that. So, even the kids who are more severely challenged, they can often do a lot more than you think that they can.

So, is it gratifying when people come to your talks and tell you that you’ve helped change their lives in a positive way?

I had a girl come up to me last week at Sinclair College and she told me that looking at my videos and reading my books motivated her to do well in college. It gave her the confidence that she could do it. Obviously, that is very gratifying for me to hear.

AMG/Parade Digital

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